Name:
Anne Scott Barrett
Age & Astrological Sign? I was born in 1969-you do the math. I’m a Virgo on a Leo cusp…so I’m not as tidy as pure Virgos.
Favorite Muppet? Can you seriously have just one? That’s not fair! I’m going to say Jim Henson.
Favorite Quotation? “Run, Forrest, RUN!”
Hometown? Yazoo City, Mississippi.
How long have you lived in Oxford? For freakin ever. I’m in a brutal and beautiful long-term relationship with it.
Artistic Style? Color, Line, and Crazy.
Favorite Medium? Watercolor
Favorite Artistic Tool or Implement? A pinstriper’s brush.
Art Education? I was born this way.
Where do you get your ideas & inspiration? Music and lyrics are the biggest inspirations…but nature and its infinite beauty and surprise can do it for me too.
Favorite project you’ve completed? Oh man. All of them.
Where can we see your art on display? Walk into Proud Larrys’ or Lenora’s. The Frame Up always has a few watercolors around. Most of the big murals and logos died when the Square went booze crazy.
Three ideas you’d like to explore in your art? I have a friend who works for the state archive. I’m fascinated with the stories and photos she uncovers—I’d like to do some work based on those finds. I’m finding myself watching how sunlight moves through the town and the way it can reveal or hide things—illusion. At the top of the list would be humor. Humor is everything.
Favorite Artists? I’ll need an extra page. I am drawn to more explosive contemporary artists like Ralph Steadman and Derek Hess. I like the sinister stuff but I have a soft spot for Andy Warhol’s early broken like drawings.
Favorite Bands? You’re killing me. I’ll just say that Blue Mountain puts me where I need to be, no matter what. I’ll wear out some hill country masters and turn around and scream along with Black Flag. Picking a favorite band is harder than picking a favorite child.
Favorite Books/Authors? Hunter S. Thompson, duh. I also like encyclopedias.
What do you love about Oxford, and what do you wish you 
could change? There are enough nut jobs in this town to fill years and years of talk shows. Creative and crazy artists, musicians, teachers, mothers, and fathers. I love them all so much. Maybe too much. I tend to be very protective of them, which makes me go balls to the wall crazy when I see them all being forced to move out of the city because real estate investors eat up all the single family houses and give them to college kids to destroy. THE RENT IS TOO DAMN HIGH!
I love love love the local farms and grocer…and the buses, too. If you want to see Oxford—take a ride on the bus.
I like seeing sidewalks being put in—they still lead to nowhere—I especially like the signs that read “Push button and wait for signal,” but there is no button…but hey! it’s a start! I would like to be able to ride my bike around town and beyond without the very real threat of being killed.
I also think every local should be allowed to punch one college kid per semester.
All in all—I have been to every state in the lower 48 and have met and love some extraordinary people—but nothing compares to the beauty and magic Oxford keeps. I just hope it can survive the “look good” movement and find its way back to the “being good” way of life.
This article was published in The Local Voice #157 (May 31-June 14, 2012).
